Civil Service vis--vis the Public Representatives

By Dr. P. Dayachari, February,01, 2010

Civil Services:

Include Officers and Staff of the Government, Quasi Governmental Organisations including PSUs,etc Lok Ayuktas Regulatory Authorities including Anti Corruption Agencies Public Private Partnerships Judiciary(?)

Public Representatives :
Consist of Elected Representatives Appointed Representatives Political Parties Fourth Estate NGOs Consumer and other Activist Groups Trade Unions

Relationship
Civil Service vis-a vis Political Executive Peoples Representatives Media NGOs Activist Unions

Impediments in effective functioning of Civil Services

Presence of serious systemic obstacles to improving public delivery systems. These systemic obstacles include:

Overstaffing. Frequent transfers of public servants. Weak anti-corruption enforcement mechanisms. Role Swapping

The Enabling Environment

The Role of Political Leadership

Vision Counts: The political leadership influenced the kinds of reforms pursued in several states, like AP, MP, and Karnataka. Bipartisan consensus across party lines facilitated reforms to improve program delivery in Tamil Nadu.

An Empowered Civil Service

Stability of tenure crucial to empowering civil servants spearheading reform initiatives. Managerial autonomy for decision-making. Political support and signaling. Civil Service when empowered by political leaders can be an effective instrument for innovation in service delivery.

Activating Civic Pressures for Change

The Importance of Institutional Design

Access to information laws work best when appeals processes are simple and pressure from below encourage their use. Institutionalized citizen participation in urban governance. NGOs appeal to one part of the state (the judiciary) to hold another accountable (the executive). The Political Economy of Hospital Autonomy in MP Anti-corruption Institutions need to focus more on corruption in service delivery; the media can be an important ally when prosecution is difficult. Surat Municipal Corporation use the media as an ally.

Public Interest Litigation

Creating Stakes for Participation:

Using the Media for Effect:

Simplifying Transactions: Lessons

High-level political support key to overcoming resistance. Stability of tenure for administrative champions necessary. Importance of Public-Private Partnerships Low levels of citizen awareness in rural areas an obstacle to change. No jobs lost in any of these initiatives: WinWin Situation.

Restructuring Agency Processes: Cases

State-Wide Agencies

Andhra Pradeshs Transport and Registration Departments The Karnataka State and Road Transport Corporation. Transforming City Agencies in Bangalore Reforms in the Surat Municipal Corporation

City-Wide Agencies

Cases: Surat After the Plague, 1994-2005. Decentralizing Teacher Management in MP. Lessons: Decentralization in Surat freed the municipal commissioner to focus on policy issues and empowered zonal commissioners, on the ground, to deal with a fast-changing situation. Decentralizing teacher control to PRIs in MP lowered teacher absenteeism and reinforced accountability. Use of para-teachers made it possible to extend a decentralized model of teacher management in MP that boosted school enrollment in a fiscally-constrained setting.

Decentralization: Cases and Lessons

Strengthening Provider Autonomy

Case: Rogi Kalyan Samitis in MP. Hospitals set up as RKS societies with autonomy to charge user fees and deploy them for purchase of equipment and maintenance. RKS societies representative of local society. Results:

Productivity of salary expenditures improved Doctor enthusiasm increased with better equipment Patient satisfaction ratings increased significantly.

Building Political Support for Program Delivery

Comparing HD Outcomes in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Both States possess similar human development outcomes in 1981; By 2001, Tamil Nadu had jumped to third place while Karnataka remained in seventh place, despite similar rates of economic growth. Gap is now narrowing, but the question remains why TN was a superior performer in the 1980s and 1990s on the whole. Key difference is the role of the Tamil Nadu government in fashioning a set of public policies and interventions to boost human development beyond what might have been expected by growth alone.

Political Support Spurred Andhra Pradeshs Civil Service into Action

Programs effectively implemented by APs civil service. Collector in AP a senior officer unlike many states; AP also have no divisional commissioner system to dilute the collectors power; and Secretaries possess tradition of autonomy in implementation in the state. Karnataka lacked an entrenched welfarist ideology to push social programs: Mid-day meal scheme in the state, for example, not launched until 2002; northern Karnataka remains behind the rest of the state.

Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms: Cases

Reducing Frequent Transfers . Report Cards in Bangalore, 1994-2004. Right to Information: Rajasthan and Delhi. Strengthening Anti-Corruption Institutions

The Central Vigilance Commission The State Lok Ayukta

Public Interest Litigation and the Courts.

Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms: Premature Transfers

New approaches might involve the creation of statutory civil services boards to restrict transfers, legal minimum tenures, and a stability index to track transfers.

Aggregate Transfers, Karnataka, 2000-05

Total Group A, B, C and D Transfers - Governm ent of Karnataka (2000-2005) 60000 50000 40000 34017 30000 20000 16798 10000 8211 0 00-01 01-02 02-03 Year 03-04 04-05 (AprilSept) 30275 54333

Employees in Thousands

Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms: Report Cards

Report cards prod agency heads into action, and mobilize public pressure for change.
Satisfaction with Public Services Across CRCs

80 70

71 54 46 45 30 9

73 65 43 25 18 5 BMP Govt Hospital 25 16 15 1 BDA RTO 14 18

Percentge

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 4

37

BWSSB

BESCOM

BSNL

Agency 1994 1999 2003

Karnatakas Lok Ayukta: Focus on Service Delivery

Investigates corruption/maladministration; budget U.S.$1.6 million; five hundred officers; activist judge appointed in 2001 Investigations:

Drug adulteration Public hospitals (absenteeism, exploitation) Transport and registration departments. Corruption in municipal government

Volume of complaints triple in one year. Wide publicity may be the best way to check corruption when courts dont work.

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